Ireland squad go back to school for revision over rule changes

Referee Hugh Dallas was a high profile visitor to the Ireland team hotel in Portmarnock on Monday night to advise the players about the myriad rule changes which will come into play for Euro 2016.

While some are cosmetic – players’ under-shorts or tights must now match their shorts – and some are minor but will nevertheless change the habits of a lifetime – such as the ball no longer needing to go forward at kick-off – others could have a significant impact on proceedings in France.

One of the most striking innovations is that the denial of a goal-scoring opportunity in the box no longer means an automatic red card – it will now be at the referee’s discretion to decide if, for example, it was a legitimate but ill-timed challenge which denied the player the strike on goal.